


quiet mornings (or lack thereof)

by aac7



Series: friends being a headache [6]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Birthday Fluff, Blue Lion Shenanigans should be a tag, F/M, Happy Birthday Felix Hugo Fraldarius, morning fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29574033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aac7/pseuds/aac7
Summary: But there are some mornings where Felix prefers to wake slowly. He lets himself float in the blissful quiet of their apartment, where the only sounds are he and Byleth’s even breaths, and the occasional mewls of their attention-deprived felines._____Peaceful mornings don't exist when one has friends like Felix's, even if it is his birthday.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/My Unit | Byleth
Series: friends being a headache [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958674
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	quiet mornings (or lack thereof)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Felix Fire Emblem, I love you even though you're a big grouchy baby sometimes

_“Felix.”_

A warm, soft breath tickles his ear, causing Felix to groan as he nudges his face deeper into the pillow. He’s determined to get at least one more hour of sleep before the day begins. He already knows he’s going to need it. 

When he doesn’t respond, Byleth’s cool hands snake around his bare torso, and he feels the point of her chin brush against his shoulder. 

If Byleth is awake, it should be around seven in the morning. On any other weekend, they would be out of bed at this time, sharing a light breakfast and lacing up their running shoes before stepping out into the brisk Fhirdiad air to start their day with a rush of endorphins.

But there are some mornings where Felix prefers to wake slowly. He lets himself float in the blissful quiet of their apartment, where the only sounds are he and Byleth’s even breaths, and the occasional mewls of their attention-deprived felines.

Despite his earlier attempts to drift back to sleep, he shudders into semi-wakefulness when he feels the tip of Byleth’s tongue slowly trace the shell of his ear. 

“Happy birthday, lover,” she purrs, her teeth catching his earlobe and nipping playfully. Felix manages to keep his eyes shut, but smiles when he feels her press featherlight kisses down the side of his neck. Her fingertips skim across the muscles of his arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. 

“Too early to celebrate,” he mutters as her leg hooks around one of his, and he feels her chest press against his back. “Still tired from last night.” 

Her laughter is as warm as the morning sun itself, easing him into the idea of waking. “I told you not to try and outdrink Glenn.” 

“It was just wine,” he mumbles, recalling the way he and his brother had engaged in the silent competition, inconspicuously downing glass after glass of the unreasonably expensive wine their father had brought to dinner. 

“Mmhm,” Byleth hums against his skin. “I think I got drunk just from kissing you.” 

“I didn’t hear you complaining,” he smirks. She’d had her fair share of that classy red, and a chaste kiss during the cab ride home had quickly led to wandering hands and deep, drunken kisses that tasted of bitter blackberries and plums.

Now awake, he rolls over to look at her. Byleth is backlit by a halo of morning light, and Felix takes this moment to appreciate the finer details of her face. The slope of her nose, the colour of her lips, the rose blush dusting her cheeks when she notices him appraising her. 

His thumb idly brushes the purple marks decorating the pale skin above her breast, causing Byleth to shiver. She grabs his wrist and lifts his hand away from her chest, draping it over her hip as her other hand tangles through his hair, using it to pull his head further into her embrace.

Felix immediately melts into her, sighing contentedly as her fingernails rake across his scalp. He enjoyed indulging in mornings like this, lounging in a bed that Byleth kept outfitted with too many pillows, a tangle of limbs and bedsheets.

“What do you want to do today?” She asks, kissing his temple and sliding her fingers through the loose strands of his hair.

“Nothing,” he murmurs, his eyes already beginning to flutter shut again. It was his birthday after all, he was allowed to be a little lazy. “Stay in bed with me all day?” He suggests, his arms tightening around her. He was allowed to be a little greedy too. “Let’s have a peaceful day.”

“As tempting as that sounds, we have to get up eventually. Your friends are coming over for dinner and drinks tonight,” she reminds him. “We didn’t exactly go straight to the bedroom when we came in...”

Flashes of the night before flicker through his mind, punctuated by desperate kisses and moans of pleasure. Shoes being hastily toed off and kicked across the floor. Jackets tossed in the general direction of the closet. Bills and work documents swept off the countertops. Even the living room hadn’t been spared, throw pillows knocked out of place and clothes strewn about. 

“Ugh…” he grumbles, knowing full well that Byleth intended to drag him out of bed to straighten the place up.

She presses one last kiss to his forehead before prying herself from his grasp and scooting to sit at the edge of the bed. Though a half-lidded gaze, he lazily watches the muscles shift under Byleth’s skin as she stretches, then reaches down to claim the white shirt she’d practically ripped off in her haste to undress him.

With his shirt haphazardly buttoned and hanging loosely off her frame, she throws the curtains open before walking around the bed, beginning to scoop up the discarded articles of clothing and dumping them into the hamper. 

“I’m gonna go start breakfast. Then we’re cleaning.” 

It’s hard to argue with her when she turns around to walk out of the room, and Felix catches a glimpse of her ass peeking out from underneath the hem of his shirt. He has to stop himself from reaching out and pulling her back into bed with him. 

When Byleth pushes the door open, she freezes mid-step. Surprise flashes across her face in the form of a slight frown and furrowed brows before smoothing back into her previous expression. Felix honestly doesn’t pay it much mind, she’s probably just watching the cats do something oddly human again. 

The bed creaks when he sits up, breaking Byleth from her trance. She suddenly backtracks into the room and casually shuts the door halfway before approaching him once more. She takes his face in her hands and kisses the tip of his nose. “Why don’t you wait here, and I’ll bring you breakfast?”

Pleased, but not wanting to push his luck, he tilts his head in question. “What about the cleaning?” 

“It’s still early,” she says, patting his cheek. “We’ll deal with it later. For now, let me spoil you.”

His hands drift downwards, grasping handfuls of her ass. “There are other ways you could spoil me, you know.” 

He laughs when Byleth smacks at his hands until he releases her, walking across the room to pluck her robe from its hook. “If you’ve showered by the time I’m finished, perhaps I’ll consider it.”

She slinks out the door, shutting it behind her and leaving Felix alone in their sun-drenched bedroom. He rolls out of bed and heads into the adjoined bathroom. Hell, he even whistles as he does so, because so far it’s been a great morning. 

The sooner he showers, the sooner their quiet little birthday celebration can begin. 

**__________**

When Byleth had first started dating Felix, she’d quickly come to the realization that his friends occupied a large part of his life. He would never admit that of course, but everyone knew that he enjoyed their company as much as they did his.

It was rare to see such a large group of twenty-something’s remain such close companions as the years wore on. There were many strong bonds within the group of his childhood friends and even those they’d met through circumstance and chance. His friends were kind, thoughtful, fun, and smart.

Though right about now, she’s really reconsidering that last one.

Byleth makes sure that the door is shut tightly behind her, slipping her robe on and wrapping it tightly around her torso as she glares at Sylvain, who is tangled in a combination of teal and navy streamers. 

He opens his mouth to say something, but Byleth tiptoes forwards and presses her index finger over his lips, and in doing so realizes that he isn’t alone. It’s as if the world stops moving all at once. The scene would be amusing if the idiots in front of her hadn’t just broken into her home. 

Ingrid and Ashe are frozen in the centre of their living room, holding a small box of thumbtacks and a half-rolled banner, with looks of utter horror on their faces.

Mercedes and Dedue are in their kitchen, slicing fruit and arranging them atop a white platter that Byleth doesn’t recognize. When they see her, Dedue pauses mid-chop, and Mercedes drops a strawberry. 

Dimitri, who’d been blowing up balloons, lets go of the end and the rush of pressurized air that escapes the thing is suddenly the loudest sound Byleth has ever heard. The group watches in horror as it flies across the room and slaps uselessly against the wall. 

Everyone’s heads snap towards the door Byleth had just exited, anxious to see if they’d roused enough noise to disturb the most easily irritated person in the world. 

They all hold their breath when they hear the floorboards creak under Felix’s feet. Dedue blinks. Mercedes slaps a hand over her own mouth. Ingrid and Ashe purse their lips tightly. Dimitri’s eyes are wide with fear. Everyone is bracing themselves for the worst, but the door does not open.

Instead, all they hear is the sound of Felix’s off-tune whistling and the rush of water through pipes as he starts the shower. 

Everyone relaxes, but Byleth still glares. “I’m honestly surprised we didn’t hear you guys earlier,” Byleth admits, rubbing her eyes to rid herself of any remaining tendrils of sleep.

“That’s because Annette’s been in the corner for the past twenty minutes,” Ashe explains, jabbing his thumb to something out of Byleth’s view. She ventures deeper into the apartment, eyes widening when she sees the amount of decorations laying on the floor and taped to the walls. There are balloons everywhere, including five huge silver foil letters that spell Felix’s name. 

Annette waves at her from the corner of the living room, holding both cats in her lap. No wonder why it’d been so quiet. 

“Felix is going to hate this,” Byleth mutters, picking up a blue pin that reads ‘Birthday Boy!’

“At least he won’t be expecting it!” Sylvain exclaims, waving his arms excitedly. “Admit it, Byleth, it’s genius.” 

She turns back to Sylvain, holding her palm out to him. “We gave you that key for emergencies,” she hisses. “Not to break in and deface our apartment.” 

Sylvain pouts, but reaches into his pocket for his keys, removing their key and slapping it into her palm. “But it’s Felix’s birthday, we have to celebrate,” he whisper-shouts as Byleth closes her fist around it. “With the way he talks to people, it’s a miracle he’s made it to 25.”

“And you thought to celebrate that with a surprise party? There’s only one thing Felix hates more than parties, and it’s being caught off-guard.” 

It wasn’t that Felix outright hated gatherings with his friends, he just liked to know ahead of time. A simple evening meal together gave Felix plenty of time to mentally prepare himself for the oh-so-arduous task of socialization. 

“If we lived our lives avoiding what Felix hated, we wouldn’t get to do anything other than sit quietly and drink beer,” Ingrid points out as she and Ashe proceed to unroll their banner. Everyone else seems to take that as their cue to continue quietly proceeding with their tasks. 

“I don’t know guys...You know how Felix can be before you get some coffee in him.” Cranky, that’s how he could be. Not to mention he hasn’t even eaten yet. 

“Come on, Byleth,” Sylvain pleads, a desperate pitch in his voice. “Otherwise I spent fifty-five dollars on balloons for nothing!” 

“I gave you my card and you spent more than fifty dollars on these balloons?” Dimitri repeats incredulously, dropping the balloon he’s about to inflate. 

“No, I was kidding, I only spent ten dollars,” Sylvain retracts quickly, and Ingrid rolls her eyes. Dimitri relaxes slightly. “...Five times.”

Of course, the two friends arguing about staying on budget turns into an all-out whisper war as Annette and Ashe argue the relevance of a well-decorated party atmosphere, with Mercedes adding her two cents about creating a pleasing aesthetic for photos, and Ingrid attempting to mediate.

Arguing with them is pointless, another thing Byleth had learned when she started dating Felix. The people of Faerghus were amongst the most stubborn in all of Fodlan, after all.

So as always, Byleth sighs deeply and ducks into the kitchen. What could she do now, other than toss fifty-five dollars worth of balloons off the balcony? She joins Dedue, who somehow ignores the war breaking out in front of him and leisurely continues chopping fruit. 

“Dedue, can you at least make some breakfast?”

**__________**

Felix still isn’t dressed when Byleth returns to their room. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed in his boxers, lazily rubbing a towel against his wet hair as he scrolls through his phone. He looks up when Byleth kicks the door shut behind her. “You actually cooked? I thought my sense of smell was messing with me.” 

“Three years into the relationship yet you still underestimate my ability to impress you?” She sets the tray of food onto the nightstand. Felix squints down at the meal, picking up the fork and pushing aside the decorative pieces of fruit that Byleth hadn’t the mind to remove. 

“You made this?” Felix checks, poking suspiciously at the omelette. 

“Of course,” Byleth lies, sipping from her own mug of coffee. “I said that I’d make you breakfast, didn’t I?” 

“Breakfast for you means a sad piece of toast and an apple. Maybe that mush you call oatmeal if you’re feeling fancy.”

“And coffee,” she reminds him, pushing his mug closer to his plate. It’s true that her own experience in the kitchen was limited, so who was she to not take advantage of Dedue’s kindness and expertise? “So what though? I’ve been experimenting.”

He only looks more unsure. “I don’t know if I like the sound of that. What’s in it?” 

Byleth hesitates. She hadn’t been watching when Dedue had made it, instead helping Sylvain detangle himself from his prison of crepe paper and hiding anything breakable before setting Annette loose.

“Stuff,” she answers vaguely with a shrug. “Now stop talking and eat your food before it gets cold.”

The way he scoops a piece of egg up onto his fork is almost unenthusiastic, and he hesitates a second too long to be trusting. The exhale that accompanies the action is more dramatic than Byleth really cares for, and she almost reaches out and pushes the fork into his mouth. 

The food barely touches his lips when there’s a muffled _thump_ from outside their door startling them both, accompanied by a loud curse. Felix is on his feet in an instant, and Byleth is praying that she hadn’t accidentally left one of his ceremonial swords out and within Annette’s proximity. 

“Is someone in the house?” He questions, but Byleth quickly blocks his path, searching her brain for any excuse. “What are you doing? Move.” 

“It’s just Sylvain,” Byleth sputters. “I let him in while you were in the shower. He just came by to drop off some booze for tonight.”

Felix looks at her disbelievingly. “At seven thirty in the morning?”

“Yeah.”

He stares at her in that awfully accusatory way he does when he knows she’s lying. “I think I should go see what he’s up to.” 

“No!” Byleth shouts, throwing herself in front of the door. “I mean...let me. You stay here, okay? I’ll take care of it.” She doesn’t leave him any room to argue, blindly grasping for the doorknob and opening the door as little as possible, slipping out once again.

“What the hell happened to staying quiet?” She growls when she sees Sylvain sprawled out on the floor. “Felix heard you guys!” 

“He was bringing in the birthday lasagna and he tripped over the dumb streamers he didn’t hang up!” Ingrid huffs, holding up a foil-covered tray. “The lasagna is okay though.” 

“I’m fine too,” Sylvain grumbles from his spot on the floor.

Ingrid nudges him with her foot. “No one cares, Sylvain.” 

“Birthday lasagna?” Byleth repeats when her brain finally catches up to the situation at hand. She flips back a corner of the tinfoil, peering inside. “You made Felix a birthday lasagna?” It’s genius, really. Better than cake.

 _“By?”_ Felix calls from the bedroom. _“Is everything okay?”_

She rushes back to the door, grabbing onto the doorknob and he turns it from the other side. _“What are you doing? Let me out!”_

“You can’t come out,” Byleth calls back. “Because...because Sylvain is naked.” 

She’s always been a terrible liar. Just add that to the list of reasons why they couldn’t ever throw Felix a surprise party.

Felix doesn’t reply for a solid ten seconds before the doorknob rattles around in her hand as he tries to escape. _“Why is Sylvain naked?”_

“He spilled something on his clothes!” Byleth blurts out, looking back at their group of friends and shrugging. “Don’t come out, you don’t want to see this.” Sylvain winks at her and gestures loosely with his hands, prompting Ingrid to kick him.

_“I don’t want you seeing that either!”_

“Not much to look at, don’t worry. Just stay where you are and I’ll send him out,” she tells him, silently hoping that it’s enough for him to back off. “Just get in bed and eat your breakfast.”

_“...Fine.”_

Byleth slowly releases the doorknob, waiting a few seconds to see if he’ll try again. She breathes a sigh of relief when she hears his footsteps retreat and the bed creak under his weight. “I bought us a little bit of time,” she sighs. “Let’s get the decorations in order before his patience runs out.”

“Why did I have to be naked?” Sylvain asks giddily, picking up a few of the streamers to begin hanging. “Why couldn’t it have been Ashe?”

“Because if it’s you, it is believable,” Dedue explains from behind the counter. “Ashe would never remove his clothes in the company of a woman he isn’t in a relationship with.” Byleth can feel the heat radiating from Ashe’s face at the mere idea of such an act.

Sylvain gasps in mock offence. “Dedue, is that your way of calling me a slut?” 

Dedue, very seriously, nods once and says, “Yes.”

“He isn’t wrong,” Ingrid mutters, pushing a tack through the corner of a hand-painted banner. “You hit on anything that breathes.” 

“I do not!” Sylvain counters with a laugh.

The vein on Ingrid’s forehead is protruding as she takes a step forward and pokes Sylvain in the shoulder. “My grandmother begs to differ!”

The redhead shifts to hold his hands up defensively. “I was looking at her from behind! She didn’t seem that old!” 

Dimitri steps between the two of them before any thumb tacks are thrown or someone is throttled with streamers. “Guys, maybe we should keep it down before we--”

“What are you idiots doing to my living room?”

Everyone turns to find the birthday boy standing a few feet behind them, his expression alarmingly calm as he looks over the intruders, coffee mug in hand. At least he’d put on a shirt and pants. No one moves, as if standing still would cause them to fade into the background and disappear off to anywhere but under the gaze of one Felix Fraldarius.

“Surprise?” Annette squeaks, but it sounds more like a question than a greeting.

Sylvain is the first to leap into action, grabbing Byleth’s shoulders and hunching over to hide behind her. “Quick, Byleth, take off your robe so Felix doesn’t see the birthday lasagna!” 

“I’m not going to do that, Sylvain.” 

“I think it’s a little late for that anyways,” Mercedes hums, nodding her head towards Felix. “Happy birthday, Felix!” She greets in a voice that’s too cheerful to be heard this early in the day. She casually walks over and places a tentative kiss on his cheek and hugs him tightly. It's a move only Mercedes could make without being immediately rebuffed due to its motherly nature.

Still, Felix grimaces as if she’d tackled him, his hands hovering over her torso. “Thanks,” he mutters. “So what are we drinking?” 

**__________**

Birthday dinner turns into birthday breakfast (which Felix eats more readily when he finds out that Dedue had prepared it. Byleth is absolutely not offended), and eventually turns into birthday lunch. Once Ashe gets the blender going and the booze flowing, it’s all over for them. 

They’re well into the night when Annette raids their cabinet of cards and board games. Due to their overly competitive nature during these types of occasions, Byleth and Felix opt to sit out. They’re perfectly content with cuddling and sharing a bottle of beer as they watch the latest game unfold anyways. 

Annette takes a sip of her margarita, beaming proudly as she pushes a stack of multicoloured bills into the centre of the table. “I’m all in,” she announces. “Uno, bitches. I have a yahtzee.”

“Annie,” Mercedes giggles, taking the drink from her friend’s hand. “We’re playing monopoly.”

“Monopoly?” Sylvain repeats, looking down at the stack of monopoly money in his hands. “I thought we were playing strip poker.”

“We played and you lost, Sylvain,” Byleth reminds him. “That’s why your pants and shirt are in the freezer.” 

“Ah,” he realizes when he looks down at himself, not at all shocked by this information. “Thank you for reminding me, milady,” he says, amber liquid sloshing dangerously in his glass as he stands and bows graciously before heading into the kitchen. 

“Sorry you didn’t get your quiet day,” Byleth chuckles, resting her head on Felix’s shoulder. Her cheeks are warm, both from the electric fireplace blazing working hard to banish the February cold, and from the dangerous concoctions Ashe was serving.

“I could do with _much_ less decorations, but it turned out to be a pretty good day anyways,” Felix admits with a small smile. When Byleth gazes up at him, she sees that his cheeks are flushed. Whether it’s from the alcohol or the confession, she can’t tell. He looks down to meet her eyes, his smile growing as he places a kiss on her forehead. “I started it and am gonna end it with you, that’s all that matters to me.” 

Love tingles in her chest and the warm feeling that she adores travels all the way down to the tips of her toes as she snuggles further into his chest. “Keep saying stuff like that and you’re going to get really lucky tonight.” 

His smile curls into a smirk. “Oh? Before we even cut the lasagna?” 

Apparently Felix knows her body better than she does, because her stomach growls, demanding to be acknowledged. “I guess I am hungry,” she sighs, leaning back a tad wistfully to let Felix stand and pull her off the couch. 

They link arms as they walk towards the kitchen, and Byleth reaches down to pull the dish from where it’s staying warm in the oven. “You’re not going to make everyone sing happy birthday to me, are you?”

Byleth gestures to the living room. “You think anyone here is in a state to sing?”

Ashe’s face is pressed into their dinner table, where he’s either asleep or just passed out. Ingrid sits in the chair beside him, slumped over the back of her chair and staring up at the ceiling. Dimitri’s been sitting in the armchair for hours, snoring quietly. Sylvain is giggling like a schoolgirl, wielding a marker and approaching Dimitri’s face. Annette is still spurting random board game titles and trying to gamble her monopoly bills. 

Mercedes and Dedue are the only conscious ones keeping everyone alive, but they just quietly raise their glasses to Felix and grin. 

“Alright, I see what you mean,” Felix sighs, but looks fondly over his chaotic group of friends. 

Byleth hands him a plate of lasagna, getting up on her tiptoes to plant a lingering kiss on his cheek. 

“Happy birthday, Felix.”


End file.
